Over the past several years, the average mobile device used by consumers has evolved from a simple feature phone that may support only basic talk and text features into an advanced Internet-capable device that may almost always be connected to the Internet. Over the same time, the shopping experience for most consumers has remained somewhat consistent. Although some modern consumers may use mobile devices to check prices for products or to find information relating to products, these types of activities may sometimes be frowned upon by retail location personnel. In particular, shoppers may scan items to find a better price online, thereby placing retail locations at a disadvantage. As such, some retailers may not encourage users to interact with mobile devices during shopping expeditions.
Some modern consumers may use mobile devices to track shopping lists. While these consumers may rely on electronic shopping list solutions, these shopping list solutions may be lacking in various ways. First, consumers must create the lists ahead of time and therefore the electronic shopping lists may differ from traditional pen-and-paper shopping lists only with regard to preventing waste. Second, consumers must remember to view the list in the store or other retail location to take advantage of the electronic list. Still further, consumers may want to check prices associated with items on a shopping list. Doing so, however, may require the consumers to exit the shopping list application to access price check functionality. This can be time consuming and frustrating for some consumers.
Consumers sometimes may look for bargains at home, in published circulars, or in-store by obtaining coupon offers and/or searching the shelves for coupons or other promotional offers. When shopping, these consumers may be required to navigate the store to find bargains listed in these sources. Furthermore, consumers may not recognize deals or bargains based upon where the items are located. For example, an item on sale may be located in a special promotion area, while the regularly-priced items may be located elsewhere. As a result, a consumer may not be aware of the promotion and therefore may forego a purchase at a particular time or obtain the item elsewhere.